A record achievement in Turkey's energy surveys, tapping into a Black Sea natural gas reserve of 320 billion cubic meters set a new milestone for all things Turkish. 

With plans to depart from the NATO alliance and getting a constant slack for it via economic obliteration threats, this discovery and many more are destined to be pivotal in Turkey's independence. 

Seemingly only a political issue with heavy militaristic undertakings, Turkish independence actually hinges on a psychological departure from the overbearing European supremacy bent on pooh-poohing our Ottoman heritage.

Seeing ourselves in a new light is not easy, since we live in a world cluttered by the European Orientalism of the 19th-century. The Western aristocracy of the time exploited inventions of photography and film to brainwash the masses to chart out the image of today, relying solely on the limited information provided by inexperienced white racist informants, with no academic study or facts to substantiate their subjective views.  

Similar to the 'rough diamond Turk' images in award-winning 'Toprak', the biased imagery created at the time was explosive enough to rally the Western powers to start WWI with predetermined agendas to dismantle the Ottoman Empire. Just like drawing lines on a body to dissect the parts, Europe fully financed all interested parties to map out the current day borders of the post-Ottoman republics. 

The result may have calmed the European intelligentsia in their ivory towers, but the skewed view of life is the cause of global unrest. 

While the mental mayhem can make the German police feel comfortable arresting a Turkish-German family with the lethal knee-on-neck method, or boost an Australian ego to carry out a mass shooting at a mosque, the Turkish survivors' strength and valor are impressive enough to challenge many preconceived notions on Muslims and Turks. 

Revisiting our Ottoman heritage in New Zealand, we come upon Feriza's, a 20-year establishment that proudly blends old and new, Turkish cuisine and Ottoman hospitality with many Mediterranean flavors. Furthermore, travel vlogs by globetrotters in 'Down Under' compare and contrast Western life and Eastern expectations.

Rethinking a world free of European projections, we look at Hiref's high-end designs and wonder if the Ottoman Empire would have transformed into an entity like the British Commonwealth by now, with monarch and senate both in place. While the monarch part of the equation draws criticism from some, it may be exactly where Turkey is headed.

With hopes of a bright future free of Western arrogance, we wish you a great week.

Eser Turan
Founding Editor